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The likes of Roman Reigns, Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks and AJ Styles will most certainly always be pushed in WWE, but that doesn't mean that the rest won't get a chance. In order to grow and expand as a brand and a company, WWE needs to cultivate and push other stars. It doesn't always happen, and sometimes, those that are always booked atop the WWE end the pushes of potential newer performers.
It happened with Braun Strowman when he met Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar. The same happened to Bray Wyatt when he feuded with Reigns. In the women's division, everyone falls to Flair and it only hurts the potential growth of newer and future stars.
2020 saw Drew McIntyre become a huge star. Bayley and Asuka carried the women's divisions on SmackDown and RAW respectively. In order to boost ratings and keep things interesting, stars other than the primary performers need to be pushed.
WWE proved that they can create new main-event players if they choose to do so; McIntyre's year proves that. But just because a performer gets a push in WWE, it doesn't always translate to a maintained success. Here are five WWE Superstars that should be pushed at some point in 2021.
#5 WWE RAW star Angel Garza
In a year that has been strange for many reasons, one of the stranger break ups of a WWE team has to be Angel Garza and Andrade. The two had good chemistry and challenged for the RAW Tag Team titles. But for whatever reason, the duo was split and Zelina Vega is no longer with WWE.
Garza stayed on RAW following the WWE Draft and has briefly appeared in backstage segments since. He had a match against Drew Gulak on the latest episode of RAW and it appears that he'll maintain the "Lethal Lothario" gimmick that he used during his run alongside Andrade and Vega.
The former NXT Cruiserweight Champion is one of the brightest young stars in all of WWE and just needs a push up the card to remain relevant. It would take a while for him to be a main-event star but there isn't a reason why he couldn't be United States Champion at some point in 2021.
He's great in the ring, has the "It Factor" and could easily romance any number of women on RAW. WWE needs to have some newer stars move up because Lashley, Jeff Hardy, Sheamus, the Miz and John Morrison aren't going to be around forever.
#4 WWE SmackDown star Chelsea Green
Chelsea Green made her much-anticipated WWE main-roster debut on the November 13th episode of WWE SmackDown. She was a part of a fatal four way to determine a member of Team SmackDown for Survivor Series. She suffered an unfortunate injury to her wrist during the match and has been rehabbing ever since.
The former NXT star started training around Thanksgiving and even made a few posts on Instagram featuring her recovery process. Green could be back in the spring of 2021 if all goes well.
The main reason why WWE needs to push Green is that the women's division on the Blue brand is severely lacking depth. Outside of Bayley, Carmella, Bianca Belair and Sasha Banks, there is little depth. Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan are still treated as a tag team and never as serious singles threats.
Natalya is well past being a believable threat to the new generation of WWE women and Tamina is and should be sparingly used. Banks should overcome Carmella and has already sent the former Champ, Bayley, packing.
That leaves Belair, and while that is promising for the future, there are not really a lot of viable options outside of the EST of WWE. Enter Green. She has the chops to pull off a character as seen during her time in IMPACT. Simply put, SmackDown needs reinforcements in the women's division and Green will be just that upon her return.
#3 Former WWE Champion Keith Lee
The former NXT and North American Champion Keith Lee, debuted on the WWE main roster immediately following his loss to Karrion Kross at TakeOver: XXX. Lee interrupted multi-time WWE Champion Randy Orton on RAW, which is something that isn't done lightly. Orton is still considered one of the top stars in all of WWE and for a new performer to start a program with the Viper right away is a huge deal.
Lee defeated Orton at Payback and has hovered around the WWE Championship picture ever since. He has sometimes been an ally to Drew McIntyre and even fought the WWE Champ on a few occasions. The Limitless One also was a part of the victorious Team RAW at Survivor Series that swept aside Team SmackDown.
WWE desperately needs to create at least one new star a year. They need consistent main-event level talents to push and carry the company. They've done that with Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins, and McIntyre is the latest to receive such a push. Other than that, the likes of Daniel Bryan, Kevin Owens, AJ Styles and Braun Strowman are always around the title picture with each getting a title run here and there.
Lee has already shown that his in-ring work is great and his mic work is top-notch. He had huge spots at the 2019 Survivor Series as well as in the 2020 Royal Rumble. WWE catapulted McIntyre into the main-event and he's carried the company in one of the toughest years in history. Lee proved that he could do that in NXT and deserves a chance to do the same on the main roster in 2021.
#2 (Former) WWE star Sonya Deville
Sonya Deville might currently be out of the WWE for any number of reasons. In storyline, she lost to Mandy Rose at SummerSlam and was forced out of WWE and off of SmackDown. In reality, she needed some time off to deal with non-wrestling issues.
Deville was left out of the 2020 WWE Draft pool along with the likes of Becky Lynch and Ronda Rousey. The prevailing thought is that Deville will likely be back at some point in 2021 and even as soon as the Royal Rumble. It would provide a great surprise moment if she returned at the end of January in order to try to earn a title shot.
The timing of everything was unfortunate because even though Rose came out on top of their ongoing feud this year, Deville was the one who carried things on the mic. Her promos were believable and one could feel the passion coming across the screen when she spoke. Her words also had shreds of truth to them as Rose practically received many more chances when they were a team.
Prior to Rousey joining WWE, Deville was a legitimate threat in the ring due to her MMA background. Although it was toned down a bit once Rousey became a member of the WWE roster, Deville still has some of the best strikes of all the WWE women. She's also a performer with untapped potential because fans never really got to see what she could do in a storyline that didn't revolve around Rose.
2021 should be the year the WWE Universe gets to see Deville's potential. She would present a dangerous threat to both current and potential new Champions should she challenge for a belt in 2021.
#1 WWE Intercontinental Champion Big E
Big E may have just won his first singles gold in WWE in almost seven years but that doesn't mean that his current push should start and end with the Intercontinental Championship. While he was an integral part of WWE's tag team division, Big E was always able to stand out due to both his physicality and his unique sense of humor.
Some people will say he's already being pushed due to winning the Intercontinental title, and that is true. The prevailing hope among many fans and analysts, however, is that this win is just a stepping stone to the main event. He may have had some conversations about his legacy in WWE and becoming more serious with Paul Heyman. Big E's track record and character, however, have shown that he's more than just a big laughing powerhouse.
He's gone toe to toe with Cesaro, Sheamus, King Corbin, Sami Zayn and Daniel Bryan. He has charisma and the "It Factor" that so many pro wrestlers lack. All Big E needs is the faith from WWE creative and a push that means something. Now that he is on his own and away from the New Day, he might be getting that push to end this year.
That push should most definitely continue in early 2021 and beyond. He seems like a perfect opponent both mentally and physically for a particular Tribal Chief.
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